CaliToday (29/8/2025): Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet over her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia, plunging the kingdom into a state of political turmoil.
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| Paetongtarn Shinawatra waves as she arrives at Government House in Bangkok on August 29 (Lillian SUWANRUMPHA) |
Ms. Paetongtarn, the daughter of billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office last month after being accused of failing to protect Thailand's interests during a June phone call with powerful Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen, a recording of which was subsequently leaked online.
The nine-judge panel ruled 6-3 that she had failed to uphold the required ethical standards of a prime minister and removed her from office, pushing Thailand to the brink of a political crisis with no clear candidate to lead the fragile ruling coalition in parliament.
"Her actions led to a loss of trust, prioritizing personal interests over national ones, increasing public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia, and diminishing the Thai people's faith in her as Prime Minister," the verdict, read by a judge, stated.
"The accused failed to comply with the ethical code of conduct. Her premiership had effectively ended with her suspension on July 1."
The ruling, which also dissolves Ms. Paetongtarn's cabinet, comes a year after the same court ousted her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, in an unrelated ethics case.
The Controversial Call
The case centered on her phone call with Hun Sen, Cambodia's long-time leader and father of the current prime minister, in which the two discussed a simmering border dispute between their nations.
In the leaked recording, Ms. Paetongtarn referred to Hun Sen as "uncle" and called a top Thai military commander her "rival," triggering a fierce backlash in Thailand, where the armed forces wield immense power.
Conservative lawmakers accused her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military, while Ms. Paetongtarn's main coalition partner voted against her, nearly bringing down her government.
She clung to power, but a group of senators turned to the Constitutional Court, arguing she should be removed for violating constitutional clauses requiring "apparent integrity" and "ethical standards" for ministers. The court suspended her from office on July 1.
"My intention was for the good of the country, not for personal gain, but for the lives of the people, including civilians and soldiers," she told reporters after the court's verdict.
Political Turmoil and an Uncertain Future
With no clear candidate to take over as prime minister, the kingdom faces a period of profound political instability. Ms. Paetongtarn led an uneasy coalition with a group of smaller conservative parties that have long been virulently opposed to her Pheu Thai party.
Under the Thai constitution, only candidates nominated for the premiership during the last general election are eligible. Of the nine names put forward by the main parties in the 2023 election, a clear path to power is fraught with obstacles for nearly all, due to ineligibility, lack of party support, or potential legal challenges.
A new election would seem the obvious solution, but it remains unclear whether the acting Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, can call one, or if only a parliament-approved prime minister has the authority to do so.
A Persistent Struggle
Thai politics have been dominated for two decades by a struggle between the conservative, pro-military, royalist elite and the Shinawatra clan, whom they see as a threat to the kingdom's traditional social order. Ms. Paetongtarn is the sixth prime minister from the political movement founded by her father to face a Constitutional Court ruling. Only one—Thaksin himself—survived.
The fallout from the call has been severe. Not only did it cause domestic outrage, but the phone call—which was published online in full by Hun Sen, much to the fury of the Thai government—threw relations between Thailand and Cambodia into a tailspin. In July, tensions escalated into the bloodiest military clash between the two sides in decades, with more than 40 people killed and 300,000 forced from their homes along the border.
